1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a printer driver for processing image data to be output at an imaging apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an image processing apparatus such as a personal computer or a workstation that processes image data is arranged to be capable of inputting image data including color graphics and/or color images and processing the image data using application software so as to form a document including characters, graphics, and images.
An imaging apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copier, or a printer/facsimile/copier multifunction imaging apparatus that outputs the document as an output image is arranged to form the output image using imaging material such as toner or recording liquid (ink) according to an image formation method such as the inkjet recording method or the electrophotographic method.
When color graphics and color images make up a large portion of the document image to be output, the amount of imaging material such as color toner or color ink to be used increases to thereby result in an increase in running cost.
In response to such a problem, a color printer has been developed in the prior art that implements a so-called ink saving mode or toner saving mode (imaging material saving mode) that reduces the amount of imaging material used in forming an image. In such a color printer apparatus, when the imaging material saving mode is selected, a predetermined process is performed so that the total amount of ink used for an output image may be reduced.
For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 7-107280 discloses a toner saving mode that is realized by detecting edge information included in image data and printing a portion of an image that is determined to correspond to an inner region with a reduced amount of ink.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 11-112789 discloses a technique of skipping every other pixel data from bitmap image data representing a pattern and forming an image based on the image data resulting from the pixel skipping so as to reduce the number of pixels to be reproduced and thereby reduce the amount of ink or toner to be used in the image formation process.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-130055 discloses a technique in which plural different modes including an ink saving mode and a high image quality mode are set, and when the ink saving mode is set and an operator requests for high quality image, the operating mode is automatically switched from the ink saving mode to the high quality image mode.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-83845 discloses a technique of switching a toner saving method (e.g., dither pattern, reduction of the concentration value of a monochrome background object) according to the depiction object.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-66781 discloses a technique involving processing image data using a toner saving profile set for each depiction object.
According to the prior art techniques described above, color reproducing modes are switched in order to reduce the total amount of imaging material used in the image formation process. As a result, the overall color concentration of the reproduced image may be decreased compared to that of a normal output image so that the overall image quality may be degraded.
In other words, the prior art techniques described above are not adaptable to a situation in which accurate reproduction of a color image portion of a color document is desired while allowing some alterations in the color reproduction of character and graphic portions of the color document upon generating print output of a color document including characters, graphics, and images. Therefore, the imaging material saving mode according to the prior art is not always capable of reflecting the desires and preferences of the user pertaining to color reproduction.